ANT 170 - Popular Archaeology

Many popular ideas about the past are at odds with what professional archaeologists think they know. Most of us find the past inherently interesting, without embellishment. But we are commonly confronted by intriguing beliefs in visits by ancient astronauts, the lost continent of Atlantis, etc. While some of these ideas may have merit, many do not. Develops methods for evaluating critically the archaeological record, sorting out science from pseudoscience and distinguishing that which is plausible from that which is unlikely.